Vokkaliga leaders demand 12% reservation in govt jobs and college admissions

Under the leadership of state Revenue Minister R Ashoka, they submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai here.

Karnataka ministers and BJP legislators belonging to the dominant Vokkaliga community on Friday demanded 12 per cent reservation in admission in the state educational institutions and government jobs. Under the leadership of state Revenue Minister R Ashoka, they submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai here.

Vokkaliga leaders demand 12% reservation in govt jobs and college admissions (Twitter/R Ashoka)

Along with the call for reservations, the leaders also put forth some other demands for the welfare of the community. The Vokkaligas come under the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Karnataka.. "Today, we submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister to increase our reservation from four per cent to 12 per cent. Though our population is 16 per cent, we want 12 per cent reservation," Ashoka told reporters after submitting the memorandum.

There are many people in the peasant community which is living in abject poverty, Ashoka said adding that many Vokkaligas lost their land to various development projects and are financially weak. According to state Health Minister K Sudhakar, the Vokkaliga ministers and MLAs had a meeting under the leadership of Ashoka where it was decided to put forth this demand.

The demand comes as the state government made a move to increase reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent for SCs and from three per cent to seven per cent for STs. Besides, the Panchamasali community among the Lingayat caste has also demanded their inclusion in the 2A category of OBCs.